casey259 Posted November 24, 2013 Share Posted November 24, 2013 I did my first clean out at a pizza place (no competing machines there) that LRU found for me in an area I did some market research on. I did gumballs and 1" at $.50. Ended pulling out $110 gross for 45 days. I'm relatively new at this, so with this kind of numbers is that a good candidate for a small rack? The only issue is that the place to put this will be limited. I'm looking for some insight on how to start that process or if that's even worth it. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GagesVending Posted November 24, 2013 Share Posted November 24, 2013 Yeah, that's a great location! I'd offer them 25% commission on either a 4-way or 5-way, depending on what will fit. That's far above average for sales, so it's well worth upgrading. I'd place as many machines there as possible. I usually hope to do $1 per mech, per day. Your double did $2.44 per day, so that's over double of what I hope to get at each location. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Posted November 25, 2013 Share Posted November 25, 2013 I did my first clean out at a pizza place (no competing machines there) that LRU found for me in an area I did some market research on. I did gumballs and 1" at $.50. Ended pulling out $110 gross for 45 days. I'm relatively new at this, so with this kind of numbers is that a good candidate for a small rack? The only issue is that the place to put this will be limited. I'm looking for some insight on how to start that process or if that's even worth it. Thanks! That's a great candidate. I would immediately schedule a meeting with the decision maker at the Pizza place and explain to him or her that after 45 days your double did substantially more than the average location; that you would like to explore some options with them about how to maximize the limited real estate and switch them to commission. Good luck with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Action Vending Posted November 25, 2013 Share Posted November 25, 2013 Not sure why everyone is so eager to switch to commission?? Im not there and cant see the situation but not everything is about money to locations. Maybe you could try another approach like "what do you think about this set up? it doesnt take up much more space and it gives the kids a bit better selection so there is something for boys and girls." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dkochan Posted November 25, 2013 Share Posted November 25, 2013 Not sure why everyone is so eager to switch to commission?? Because a competitor will come in and get you kicked out when he offers to pay commission. Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Action Vending Posted November 25, 2013 Share Posted November 25, 2013 Because a competitor will come in and get you kicked out when he offers to pay commission. Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk Like i said i cant see the situation and not all locations care about a commission whether its 10.00 or 100. I have several locations that could care less about money they receive and are just happy to have good service and a good relationship with me. Sales is all about reading people and the situation at hand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sherlock Posted November 25, 2013 Share Posted November 25, 2013 I have several locations that could care less about money they receive and are just happy to have good service and a good relationship with me. Would you say, however, that those locations are more the exception than the rule? That has been the case on my route. Besides, even if a location could care less about money, doesn't mean they will turn it down if you offer. And if they do turn it down, at least you offered. Locations that you are paying a fair commission to AND giving good service, rarely kick you out. Whereas, it's common that charity vendors can give the best service in the world and still get the boot. It's just the nature of charity vending. I only speak from my own experience, but I have never had a negative reaction to an offer of commission when trying to upgrade my charity spots. I have had a few who decline the offer (those exceptions you refer to above), but never had a commission offer turn a location into a negative situation...NEVER. Better to offer and let the location decide, than assume your awesome service and clean machines will be enough to keep the commission vendors from booting you out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Posted November 25, 2013 Share Posted November 25, 2013 I respectfully disagree with you Action. It's a numbers game but, when in doubt I would rather pay a commission at a very above average loc such as this instead of burying my head and assuming they don't care about the money. 9 out of 10 owners WILL care about the money if it's articulated to them in the right way. And I'd rather not wait for a competitor to come along and do just that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caserri Posted November 25, 2013 Share Posted November 25, 2013 I know I've said it before but I believe the need for commission to keep a good location is a regional thing so I agree with Action. In my area, commissions on bulk vending is not the norm. Locations don't expect it and if offered, most turn it down. Their reasoning is that in their eyes, bulk makes very little money so a percentage of "a little money" is not worth the trouble. Most of my locations thought I was crazy for doing what I did for only a few quarters a month. When I started offering commission to get locations they would usually counter with something like, "give it to charity" or "buy yourself a coffee with it". It wasn't long before I simply removed "commission" from my vocabulary when locating and I never had an issue keeping or getting good locations. I know every region is different so you really have to know how it is in your area and what your competition is doing. You can't just expect commission doesn't matter but if you know it doesn't, then there is no need to introduce it. --Steven Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
casey259 Posted November 25, 2013 Author Share Posted November 25, 2013 Thank you everyone for the replies as this is fantastic information from well established route owners and good for the overall archive for the forums. Reading everyone's responses my plan of attack is to talk with the manager there and let them know that there is room for a small rack and that we could include more options which will be great for the customers. I'll suggest two locations within the place the first being where's currently at which is the front where everyone waits or by the doors the only entrance which is the funnel point. I'll wait and see if he brings up commission first. My guess is that he won't as when I brought it in and talked with him he was just happy to have a machine and no offense to him or the others there but they don't seem like the type of people who are revenue generating focused individuals mainly just focused on the business. If he does bring up commission then I'll start low and negotiate from there. Again thanks for the replies here from someone who's started out as a curious reader here early this year to hauling this amount and potentially upgrading I owe this fun adventure to everyone here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sherlock Posted November 25, 2013 Share Posted November 25, 2013 When I started offering commission to get locations they would usually counter with something like, "give it to charity" or "buy yourself a coffee with it". It wasn't long before I simply removed "commission" from my vocabulary when locating and I never had an issue keeping or getting good locations. Regions may vary. But, the majority of business owners are not going to care much about a $5 commission payment no matter where they live. If your location is earning so little that commission payments would only cover a cup of coffee you should not be paying commission. Locations with commission payments of only a few dollars need to be charity stops. Your charity spot should be earning enough to make a commission payment make sense for you AND your location. If switching to commission is only going to make the location owner another $5 per month, keep it a charity stop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caserri Posted November 25, 2013 Share Posted November 25, 2013 I would agree. But my point is, around here it doesn't matter if your offering $5 or $100 a month commission, the mentality is the same and most don't want anything to do with it. --Steven Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Posted November 26, 2013 Share Posted November 26, 2013 I would agree. But my point is, around here it doesn't matter if your offering $5 or $100 a month commission, the mentality is the same and most don't want anything to do with it. --Steven There is no way that can be the norm. I mean, don't get me wrong. I'm flat out jealous if you live in such an affluent area of the country that 20% of $500 monthly gross is an amount of money business owners view as a waste of their time. I can definitively say it's not that way in my area of the country. I say keep doing what works though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dkochan Posted November 26, 2013 Share Posted November 26, 2013 I can definitively say it's not that way in my area of the country.Nor is it that way in the Atlanta metro area. Most good locations want commission near me. Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caserri Posted November 26, 2013 Share Posted November 26, 2013 Ther ipullede is no way that can be the norm. I mean, don't get me wrong. I'm flat out jealous if you live in such an affluent area of the country that 20% of $500 monthly gross is an amount of money business owners view as a waste of their time. I can definitively say it's not that way in my area of the country. I say keep doing what works though. Never said it was the norm. I'm saying its regional. What works here may not work anywhere else in the country. I'm only telling you what it is like here. Plus, you guys are putting words in my mouth. I never said that 20% of $500 is viewed as a waste of time. What I did say is that 20% of "whatever the location thinks a rack makes" is a waste of time. Locations have no clue how much money a rack can make. I've said it before, I am in a vending utopia here... No competition No national vending companies No commission expected Oy, I dont know why I let myself get pulled into these conversations. --Steven Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Posted November 26, 2013 Share Posted November 26, 2013 What I did say is that 20% of "whatever the location thinks a rack makes" is a waste of time. Locations have no clue how much money a rack can make. Which brings me back to my original point that I don't think it's wise to sit around and wait for a competitor to educate them. I'd rather educate them about commission and give them an opportunity to refuse it than wait for that call to come asking me to pick up my equipment. Curious, does anybody else live in an area of the country like this? That business owners of traditionally VERY good bulk locations like family owned restaurants are simply not educated about bulk commission. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caserri Posted November 26, 2013 Share Posted November 26, 2013 Ok. You are right. --Steven Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
casey259 Posted November 26, 2013 Author Share Posted November 26, 2013 Curious, does anybody else live in an area of the country like this? That business owners of traditionally VERY good bulk locations like family owned restaurants are simply not educated about bulk commission. I find this to be the case in my area. Most of the individuals who are the decision maker simply care that there's a machine in there. If anything, most of these people see the one machine with two heads and thinks it's a novel idea for their business. They don't understand the economies of scale truly at work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tbuford Posted November 26, 2013 Share Posted November 26, 2013 And the competitors name is Tbuford. He'll also get tyou kicked out if you loet your macxhines go empty regularly. Because a competitor will come in and get you kicked out when he offers to pay commission. Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caserri Posted November 26, 2013 Share Posted November 26, 2013 And the competitors name is Tbuford. He'll also get tyou kicked out if you loet your macxhines go empty regularly. Yup. You are right. --Steven Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Posted November 26, 2013 Share Posted November 26, 2013 Ok. You are right. --Steven Steve, it's okay to have a debate. I mean, sometimes disagreeing - debating the pros/cons is what makes this forum so great. It's also the way I have those "aha!" moments. That's why I openly asked if there are others out there with a similar experience you've had. Because maybe I really am offering commissions when I shouldn't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caserri Posted November 26, 2013 Share Posted November 26, 2013 No debate here. You've changed my mind and I now agree with you. I've been out of the game many, many years now. I'm sure a lot has changed. --Steven Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Action Vending Posted November 26, 2013 Share Posted November 26, 2013 So let me get this straight if you have a machine or rack that some one has come and offered a commission to the location and the location asks you to pick up your stuff you just go in and say "okay i will pick up my rack thank you have a nice day." Then later you say to yourself boy i wish i would have paid a commission for the last few years since i put a small rack their? Or a better idea "I wanted to talk to you before i pull my machines, How about i give you 50.00 to stay and i will match what the competition has offered you. You know we take care of our machines and keep you and your customers happy." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Posted November 26, 2013 Share Posted November 26, 2013 So let me get this straight if you have a machine or rack that some one has come and offered a commission to the location and the location asks you to pick up your stuff you just go in and say "okay i will pick up my rack thank you have a nice day." Then later you say to yourself boy i wish i would have paid a commission for the last few years since i put a small rack their? Or a better idea "I wanted to talk to you before i pull my machines, How about i give you 50.00 to stay and i will match what the competition has offered you. You know we take care of our machines and keep you and your customers happy." Sorry, we already told the other guy yes and honestly, I'm a little put off by the fact that you're only willing to do this now after we received a better offer. We'll take our chances. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
casey259 Posted November 27, 2013 Author Share Posted November 27, 2013 Reading all of these replies I'll bring it up with the manager sooner than later and at least walk them through what they have and what I'm offering. If they turn me down that's ok but at least I've offered. If they accept it's onward and upward. Thanks for all the spirited replies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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